CleverDonkey.com …Musings, Commentary, Opinions, and Drivel

So, what would happen if director Ted Demme ate some psychedelic mushrooms, then watched ‘Charade’, ‘Mulholland Drive’, and ‘The Bicycle Thief’ (about 10 times each), and then asked a Hollywood studio exec to help him work out the finer points of artistic expression?

What would probably happen is that he’d get ill and excrete something like ‘The Truth About Charlie’.

Wow, what the heck was he thinking? Marie and I went to see this movie knowing nothing about it other than what we gleaned from seeing the trailer a few times. It looked like it could be good fun. It was good fun, but only because of the vast mother lode of mockable plot contrivances and hackneyed cinematic clichés. Marie kept having to shush me so that I wouldn’t disturb the other theatergoers, but my reaction was virtually involuntary.

Markie Mark (Mark Wahlberg): He should do his career a favor and only work

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What a great movie. We had the chance to see it again this past weekend, on the big screen at the Angelika Theater here in Houston. Yes, there is a bit more style than substance, but it has a whole lot of both. Every major cast member turns in a career-best performance, including the astonishing Chris Penn.

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On Shepherd just south of I-10. Excellent Italian food for very reasonable prices,  and the atmosphere is very comfortable and cute. Wait staff excellent.

I  highly recommend a ’slice’ of their pizza, which is a triangular pizza in and of  itself (fabulous crust all the way around, yum!).

Excellent espresso,  too.

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Backstreet Cafe is located on the Shepherd curve just south of W. Dallas  St. Prices are a bit upscale, but the ambience is unbeatable. We usually try to  go in the spring or fall, when the moderate temperatures make their patio a  nearly magical place to dine. We actually just went this past weekend  (10/11/2002), but were sadly disappointed to find that our *favorite* soup  (sherried mushroom) was no longer on the menu. We tried their new asparagus  soup, but it was extraordinarily ordinary.

As for the rest of the menu, I  had the duck spring roll appetizer, which was fantastic. We also love the  coffee-crusted steak and the meatloaf tower. They also have a good wine  list.

In summary, we still love Backstreet, but given the large selection  of quality dining in Houston, we may go less frequently now that our favorite  soup is no longer available. It’s still a beautiful

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